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Wolf

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<rant>
This questions pisses me off to no end. Not always, just in this circumstance.

Last summer I went to Indianapolis for a convention. Nice city, nice people, but I encountered the same thing in EVERY bar and restaurant I went into.
'Can I get you something to drink?'
Having reviewed what they have on tap, I ask 'Yeah, what bottle beers do you have'
'What do you want, I'll tell you if we have it'
Grrrrrrr, look, if you aren't going to have a beer list somewhere you better be damn well prepared to rattle off what beers you have, especially at a bar and grill!

Same thing happened here at our work Christmas party. This was at a bar, mind you, not a restaurant. I was happy with the Guiness on tap, but SWMBO wasn't thrilled with the tap selection, so I asked the same question.
'Uh, we have lots, what do you want?'
So we started making requests, guess what, they didn't have 'lots'.

So I coached her on her next trip to the bar. 'Just ask what they have in bottles besides Miller and Bud'.
Still not that helpful, but after the third or fourth name mentioned she stops the bartender and says 'I'll have that'. Guess what, they're out.
The worse thing is my co-workers 'jokingly' giving us a hard time about giving the bartender a hard time. Hard time?! Hell, we're just asking what they have, it's not my fault the person who serves the drinks for a living doesn't know what they have?
</rant>

Is it just me being too picky, am I expecting to too much, or is this a legit gripe others have?
 
I think it's perfectly legit. Most people (not those around here) get locked into drinking a particular type of beer, and that's THEIR beer - people who drink just MGD, or Bud Light, or Coors. They have their beer, that's what they want, and they have no desire to try something new.

For me (and I would suspect 99.99% of the people here), we like to experiment. I like going to a nice place and seeing that they have the Titan IPA on tap, since I've never had it. Went out a few months ago, and I'd never had a Tripple - but they had one on tap, so I tried it. Even at a Christmas party, I don't always know exactly what I want, I might feel like something different, something I haven't had in a while; how are you going to know unless you either get a list or the barkeep actually knows (and communicates) what they have available?

Perfectly legitimate *****, my man!
 
the_bird said:
I think it's perfectly legit. Most people (not those around here) get locked into drinking a particular type of beer, and that's THEIR beer - people who drink just MGD, or Bud Light, or Coors. They have their beer, that's what they want, and they have no desire to try something new.

For me (and I would suspect 99.99% of the people here), we like to experiment. I like going to a nice place and seeing that they have the Titan IPA on tap, since I've never had it. Went out a few months ago, and I'd never had a Tripple - but they had one on tap, so I tried it. Even at a Christmas party, I don't always know exactly what I want, I might feel like something different, something I haven't had in a while; how are you going to know unless you either get a list or the barkeep actually knows (and communicates) what they have available?

Perfectly legitimate *****, my man!

Yes, thats EXACTLY it. We eventually found out they had some local Capital and Lakefront beers we hadn't tried before. And in Indianapolis especially I wanted to see if they had anything local that I wouldn't even know to ask for. I guess I should just ask if they have anything local in that situation.

And I've learned that you can't tell by the beer signs. Half the time they'll have brewery signs that turn out to be strictly decorative, sicne they don't carry the beer.
 
One way to solve this is to hunt down a really kick aZZ bar that shares this same desire to expand one's beer-horizons. The type of place where they chuckle along with the others at the bar when someone orders a Miller Lite.

If you are ever in Boston, (Bird in particular, do you ever venture into the city?) I'd recommend the Sunset Grill. Their Brighton Ave location usually has at least 80 beers on tap and at least as many in bottles. They usually have Cask Ale also. Thee is also a location on Commomwealth Avenue that has a smaller, but still huge, collection.

I've been in the situation you are describing many times. Bartenders who don't drink and understand beer other than BMC are like carpenters who can only frame a house with nail guns and pre-engineered lumber systems. There really don't even know how to do their actual job.....
 
Fiery Sword said:
If you are ever in Boston, (Bird in particular, do you ever venture into the city?) I'd recommend the Sunset Grill. Their Brighton Ave location usually has at least 80 beers on tap and at least as many in bottles. They usually have Cask Ale also. Thee is also a location on Commomwealth Avenue that has a smaller, but still huge, collection.

Very rarely, unfortunately. BUT, there are some absolutely SPLENDID bars in Northampton and Amherst, some of the best in the country, so I'm not especially lacking when I want to go out.

Which may be this weekend; the M-I-L is in town, she may be on babysitting duty.....
 
Just start making up beer names and ask them to go check if they have it until that gets old.

"Yes, can you see if they have a St Jim's Amber Pils Stout?"

I hate that they make you pick one as if you'ld only like a dark beer if you picked a stout or a pils if you picked anything with a light SRM.

Can you imagine if a restaurant didn't give you a menu and just asked you what you'ld like to eat? If you said beef and they never mentioned the freshly caught Walleye special?
 
I feel your pain wolf. Its a PITA playing guess-the-beer at an unfamiliar bar.

When I was in St Louis a couple years back I got the same knee slapper at a couple bars and restaurants. I asked if they carried local beer, they said sure budwewiser, bud light...

Hardy freekin har

- magno
 
Even worse than "What do you want? I'll see if we have it..."

This happened at a local restaurant - a rather nice one:
"What's on tap?"
"Umm, I don't really know. I think we have like Bud or something and some other ones I never heard of."
"Well, can you find out?"
Begrudgingly, "Umm, I guess so."
 
Yeah, I get that a lot...what imports do you have? We have Sam Adams, Killians, and Blue Moon.

DRATS!!!

I usually end up asking "do you have anything brewed locally?"

I think the real kicker would be for me to reply to what would you like?, would be "I'd like anything except any Bud, Miller, Coors with the exception of Blue Moon, which is now technically Canadian now (throw that in there to start the confusion), and any Pabst Blue Ribbon products. These include, but are not limited to, Bud, Bud Light, Bud Select, Miller, Miller Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors, Coors Light, PBR, PBR Light, Hamms, Olympis, Falstaff, Old Milwaukee, Old Mil Light, etc...(and end the rant with) that would be in either a bottle or on draft." Now, waddayahave?"

When I get it down word for word I think they'll probably just walk away...
anyone else want to help me add to this list?;)
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Yeah, I get that a lot...what imports do you have? We have Sam Adams, Killians, and Blue Moon.

DRATS!!!

I usually end up asking "do you have anything brewed locally?"

I think the real kicker would be for me to reply to what would you like?, would be "I'd like anything except any Bud, Miller, Coors with the exception of Blue Moon, which is now technically Canadian now (throw that in there to start the confusion), and any Pabst Blue Ribbon products. These include, but are not limited to, Bud, Bud Light, Bud Select, Miller, Miller Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors, Coors Light, PBR, PBR Light, Hamms, Olympis, Falstaff, Old Milwaukee, Old Mil Light, etc...(and end the rant with) that would be in either a bottle or on draft." Now, waddayahave?"

When I get it down word for word I think they'll probably just walk away...
anyone else want to help me add to this list?;)

Brilliant, I'll start memorizing.
Don't forget Milwaukee's Best!
 
Oh man! you hit a nerve with me on this one as well. What I WANT TO KNOW is why there's almost always a wine list at a restaraunt but only 1 in 100 have a beer list? Just like you guys, I want to try the thing I never had/heard of before especially when traveling and that's probably the brew the waitress forgets to mention. Typical dialog:

Waitress: And what would you like to drink sir?
Desert: What kind of beer do you have?
Waitress: We have BMC, BMC lite, Sam Adams, Sierra, bla, bla, bla, obscure interesting sounding beer name, bla, bla, bla, bla.
Desert: What was that one you mentioned?
Waitress: You mean Coors Special Amber Light :rolleyes: ?
Desert: No that one that sounded like obscure?
Waitress: Oh, that's a local beer.
Desert: What kind of beer is it?
Waitress: <silent with dumb look on face>.
Desert: Yea, I'll take that one.
Desert: Don't you wish you had a beer list so you didn't have to go through this?
Waitress: Yes as she walks to the next table to repeat the process.

:cross: :mug: :tank:

Put Andy Rooney on this one!
 
You can't see it all that well, but this one was nice...

4050-IMG_5907.JPG


That's just the bottle-stock, too, not the stuff on draft (this is where I had a Chimay Tripple for the first, and likely last, time).
 
I don't see why they can't have a beer list. How hard can that be. I'd much rather look at a list than listen to a waiter rattle off the beers they have.
 
OK Bird, where is the list from... it can't be too far, so I might find myself there by accident;)

And yes, the situation as described steams my weenie! I was a member at the local VFW before I moved and they only had a few beers, so I drank Capt. & Coke, which adds up a little faster...:drunk:
 
It's a small little tavern near the mother in-law's place, near the southernmost tip of the westernmost Finger Lake. Hammondsport, I think?

Great little place, really good seafood, and that beer list was pretty spectacular. We'll make it a tradition when we're out to visit.

EDIT: If you find yourself down in Amherst, hit up the Moan and Dove - their selection is unbelievably good as well. Now that you've got a couple more nickles in your pocket, there are all kinds of great beer places in the Amherst / Noho area.
 
There's a reason I only go to brewpubs, people not only know what's on tap, they can make recommendations. One of the locals has "Something Lite" available, a nice Mild.

What really kills me is the last time I was in the Portland airport, the ONLY Oregon microbrew they had was Mirror Pond. More "three-tier distribution" BS.

[One exception: pizza, but even Domino's has micro brews here]
 
My rant is just a bit different that yours- I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. So, when I go to Milwaukee I LOVE to have a good beer. Last night I was at the Waterstreet Brewery, where they have 6 or so beers. They are listed on the menu, but you have to ask about a seasonal. The waitress was very nice, but when I asked about the seasonal she off-handedly said it was "A Russian Imperial Stout. Very heavy- 12% alcohol. You'd probably want the. ______". When I order a beer, most waitstaff want to give me a damned blonde ale or worse- FRUIT BEER. Like a lady can't handle the hard stuff. Maybe that is their experience, but jeez, I asked about the beer because I was interested in ordering the beer. Then, I went to the Admirals game, and at the Leine's lodge, the guy working there encouraged me to have a Leinenkugel's Apple Spice. I asked him if they had any other seasonals- he said that no, they didn't. They carried Big Butt Dopplebock last year but only sold, like, 5. I told him that was me who bought them! I walked off with a Pilsner Urquell, which is better than most of the stuff they had.

By the way, the Imperial Stout was excellent.

Lorena
 
There was a chain restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. (the name escapes me) that prides itself on having an extensive beer list. My pet peeve is that I would spend thirty minutes ordering:

Me: Do you have the xxxx?

Waiter: Let me check, brb.
(...5 mins)
Waiter: Sorry we're out.

Me: Do you have the xxxx?

Waiter: Let me check, brb.
(...5 mins)

and on and on.. now this pissed me off to no end.:mad:
 
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